Elk Rock Island Natural Area Management Plan Adopted by City of Milwaukie January 17, 1995 Prepared by Portland Parks and Recreation in cooperation with City of Milwaukie North Clackamas Parks District Friends of Elk Rock Island Natural Area Table of Contents Chapter 1: Background Location and General Description ............................. 1 Legal Description and Zoning .................................... 1 Park History ............................................................... 3 Development of Management Plan ........................... 3 Chapter 2: Natural Resources Geology ..................................................................... 5 Vegetation Communities and Habitat ........................ 6 Rare and Unusual Plants .......................................... 9 Chapter 3: Public Use Current Uses .......................................................... 10 Current Facilities .................................................... 12 Appropriate Uses ..................................................... 13 Chapter 4: Public Services Parks and Recreation .............................................. 17 Police and Fire .........................................................19 Chapter 5: Recommendations Policies .................................................................... 21 Actions..................................................................... 23 Implementation Schedule ........................................ 31 Chapter 1: Background Location and General Description Elk Rock Island Natural Area consists of three publicly owned parcels and adjacent private land located along the Willamette River in Clackamas and Multnomah Counties. Elk Rock Island and Spring Park are located on the east side of the main channel of the river. Elk Rock is on the west side of the river. Elk Rock Island is owned by the City of Portland and managed by Portland Parks and Recreation. The island is fifteen acres in size and is managed as a natural area, available for appropriate passive recreation uses. The island lies within unincorporated Clackamas County, south of the city limits of Portland and abutting the City of Milwaukie. The island is accessible by boat and by foot from the Milwaukie side except during high water periods. Spring Park is owned by the City of Milwaukie and is managed by the North Clackamas Park District (NCPD). Spring Park is 6.87 acres in size and, like Elk Rock Island, is currently managed as a natural area. Spring Park also lies within Clackamas County but is within Milwaukie city limits. Elk Rock is a prominent feature on the lower Willamette directly west of Elk Rock Island. A steep rock face, Elk Rock rises from the river at about 10 feet above sea level to nearly 270 feet at SW Riverside Drive (State Highway 43). The park portion of this feature is 3.08 acres. Elk Rock is in unincorporated Multnomah County south of Portland city limits. The park is owned by the City of Portland and managed as a natural area. A substantial portion of a 1,200 foot long railroad tunnel built through Elk Rock is within the park ownership. Legal Description and Zoning Elk Rock Island Legal description as found on deed to the City of Portland is as follows: That certain island in the Willamette River above the town of Milwaukie, Oregon, formerly known as Whitcomb Island, now called Rock Island, lying near the Southwest corner of the Lot Whitcomb's Donation Land Claim No. 38 in Township one (1) South of Range One (1) East of Willamette Meridian, containing fifteen (15) acres of land more or less. Page 1 Elk Rock Island Natural Area Management Plan October 13, 1994 Elk Rock Island is shown on Clackamas County maps as: 1S 1E 35, 100. Elk Rock Island is zoned OSM (Open Space Management) by Clackamas County. This zone is applied to parks, public and private recreation areas including golf courses and school playgrounds, cemeteries, and unique natural areas dedicated to the public or preserved by easement. Spring Park Spring Park is composed of all of blocks 24, 25, and 27 (Robertson Addition); portions of lots 2, 4, 6, and 8 of block 16 (Robertson Addition); certain adjoining vacated streets; and a lot partitioned from private property and added to the park's southwest corner. Also described as tax lots 5900, 6000, 6100, 6200, 6300, 6400, 6500, and 6601, quarter corner DD, section 35, 1S, 1E. Spring Park is zoned R5 with a NR (natural resource) overlay. In addition, the Milwaukie Comprehensive Plan includes Spring Park in the Willamette Greenway. Elk Rock Tax lot 10, Section 35, 1S, 1E. Quarter section map 4231. Tax account 99135-0100. Elk Rock is zoned by Multnomah County as R-30 (30,000 sq. ft. minimum single family residential) with CS (Community Service), WRG (Willamette River Greenway), and partial FW (Floodway) overlay zones. Private Property Adjacent private property to the north and south of Spring Park also have significant natural resource value. These areas are functionally part of the Elk Rock Island Natural Area. The property includes portions of tax lot 3100, quarter corner DA, section 35, 1S, 1E; portions of tax lots 2800, 2900, 3000, 3100, 3200, 3300, 6600, 6700, and 6800 (outside Milwaukie city limits), quarter corner DD, section 35, 1S, 1E. Of these lots that are inside Milwaukie city limits, all are zoned R5 with a NR overlay. Page 2 Elk Rock Island Natural Area Management Plan October 13, 1994 Park History The Peter Kerr family gave Elk Rock Island to the City of Portland in 1940, with the requirement that the island "be used solely as a public park or playground, or for public park or public playground purposes, for the use and enjoyment of the public generally". A deed transferring Elk Rock Island from the Kerr family to the City of Portland was executed on November 30, 1940. Portland City Council authorized the acceptance of the island by ordinance 74751, passed on December 27, 1940. Deed was recorded on January 8, 1941. Both the deed and the ordinance designated the island as Peter Kerr Park. The Kerr family formally dedicated the island on Peter Kerr's 93rd birthday, October 29, 1954. A history of Elk Rock Island was written by Milwaukie resident Esther K. Watson in 1984. Ms. Watson's document provides a pre-park history for the island. Spring Park was purchased by the City of Milwaukie from Hilda Keller in 1971. In 1980, the City of Milwaukie vacated much of Lark St. (aka 6th St.) on the south edge of Spring Park. In 1980, to correct an encroachment problem, Milwaukie traded a .25 acre portion of the vacated street to the property owner to the south, with the City acquiring approximately .36 acres adjacent to the Willamette River. The south boundary, as adjusted, was re-surveyed in 1988-89 (Gaylord) and iron rods were found at all corners. Elk Rock, on the west side of the Willamette, was also given to the City of Portland by the Peter Kerr family. The deed transferring the property was executed on June 2, 1955, and recorded on June 28, 1955 (book 1730, pages 251-252). The deed conditioned that the property "shall be used solely as a public park... and that (it) shall be known as 'Peter Kerr Park'." The deed also references an earlier conveyance of a portion of Elk Rock to The Oregon and California Railroad Co. (recorded July 21, 1922; book 886, page 210). Development of Management Plan In 1989, an effort was made by interested citizens and by parks department staff from the cities of Portland and Milwaukie to develop a management plan for Spring Park and Elk Rock Island. The management plan was to address park problems and to establish policy direction ensuring adequate protection of natural resources. Public meetings were held in Milwaukie City Hall to collect citizen input, and a plan was drafted in early 1990. The draft management plan was submitted for review to the Milwaukie Planning Commission. Staffing shortages forced a delay in finalization and approval of the plan until 1994. The management plan addresses important issues related to natural resource protection, public use, and provision of public safety services. Page 3 Elk Rock Island Natural Area Management Plan October 13, 1994 The draft plan was revised slightly in content and form in early 1994, and is scheduled for review by the North Clackamas Park District, the Milwaukie Planning Commission and City Council, and Portland City Council. NOTE. To avoid confusion between the island and the steep rock escarpment on the west side of the river, both of which are officially named "Peter Kerr Park", this document generally refers to the island area as Elk Rock Island and the escarpment as "Elk Rock". Page 4 Chapter 2: Natural Resources Natural resources existing in the Elk Rock Island natural area are significant. This chapter provides an overview of natural resources and identifies issues related to each resource area. Chapter 2 reviews geology, vegetation communities and habitat, and rare and unusual plant resources. Geology The predominant bedrock geology of the Elk Rock Island and Spring Park consists of Waverly Heights Basalt which is describe fully on the Geologic Map of the Lake Oswego Quadrangle (GMS-59, Oregon State Dept. of Geology). Waverly Heights Basalt is particularly interesting due to its age. Formed in the mid and late Eocene Period (between 36.6 and 52 million years ago), the rock substantially predates the more common Columbia River Basalts of the Miocene Period (10 to 25 million years ago). Elk Rock Island is of particular interest to geologist because the Waverly Heights Basalt is well exposed. It should be noted that Waverly Heights Basalt does exist in a substantial way in the Lake Oswego/Tryon Creek area, but there it is largely overtopped with mineral soils. The relative hardness of the Waverly Heights Basalt explains why Elk Rock Island exists. The later and softer basalts were more easily eroded by the Willamette River, leaving the intrusion of Waverly Heights Basalt in the line of the river, creating the island and the narrows to the west. Spring Park is part Waverly Heights Basalt and part mixed alluvium deposits of a relatively recent period. The Elk Rock escarpment is composed of two mid-Miocene Period basalts.